Posted in: The Classroom The Classroom - History Of: Monday Night War Part 7
By Sean Taylor
Jan 23, 2011 - 1:27:08 AM
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to The Classroom. Before we complete the History Of: The Monday Night War, I wanted to start off with a reminder. This is your last chance to send your questions in for the Teacher's Lounge Mailbag show to be recorded after the Royal Rumble. Any wrestling related questions past, present, or future can be sent to teachersloungelop@yahoo.com.
Now, let's finally finish this fucker off. It's been a year in the making and the end has finally arrived. Enjoy.
Record Breaking Rumble
In January of 2001, the WWE’s annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view was held. The Royal Rumble match that year set two top Rumble records. First off, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin won the match for a third time. Thus far, he is the only man to win the match on three separate occasions.
Also on that night, the record for eliminating the most wrestlers in a single Rumble match was set by Kane. Kane eliminated 11 wrestlers and did it looking like the dominate monster of old. Kane had gone through some character changes since his debut in late 1997. He was dumped by manager Paul Bearer, teamed with X-Pac, was romantically involved with Tori (not Torrie Wilson), and started talking. His demeanor had changed from that of an unstoppable monster to that of a fan friendly character. The 2001 Royal Rumble solidified Kane’s returning mean streak and his viability as a main event contender – especially after entering at number six and being the last man eliminated.
There was another huge shocker at this event. 2001 was one of the years that the entire list of Rumble participants wasn’t announced previously. Fans were expecting a couple of surprise entrants but they couldn’t have expected what they saw. When the number 29 entrant was called, former WWE Tag Team champion Haku (aka Meng) walked to the ring. Fans were shocked because Haku was the reigning WCW Hardcore Champion. In real life, Haku gave the belt to The Barbarian as a gift. The WCW Hardcore Title was never mentioned on Nitro again.
The Final Curtain
Fans knew that WCW was being shopped around for a new owner. Everyone waited with baited breath to find out if Eric Bischoff would be able to put together a deal or if someone new would step in and bring WCW back to prosperity. Nitro was still going strong every Monday night on TNT. No one saw it coming. On Friday, March 23, 2001, WWE.com’s splash page was changed from several headlines and pictures of WWE superstars to a graphic announcing the biggest news ever in professional wrestling:
WWE PURCHASES WCW
WCW.com immediately routed fans to WWE.com. Rumour sites and news boards all over the internet were suddenly flooded by visitors wanting to know what happened. No one suspected that the WWE would actually buy WCW and now that it had, they didn’t know what was going to happen. Nitro’s annual spring break show from Panama City Beach, Florida was being heavily hyped just four days previous. For the entire weekend, fans met, phoned, and emailed each other to discuss what Vince McMahon was going and what he should do with WCW. There were thousands of questions. What impact would this have at WrestleMania X-Seven? Would Nitro be cancelled? Would WCW continue to exist? Will Goldberg, Sting, or the nWo be on Raw on Monday? Could this be nothing more than a hoax? No answers. All we heard was that Vince had spent a mere $7 million for WCW – a company that once boasted a yearly profit of $20 million.
On Monday, March 26, fans tuned into their favourite shows dying for more information. Vince McMahon, from Raw in Cleveland, Ohio, started off both shows announcing that he had indeed bought WCW and that he held the fate of WCW in the palm of his hands. Vince also announced that later in the night, he would address the Nitro audience during a live simulcast during the show. Nitro that night was dubbed “The Night of Champions” and featured all of WCW’s titles on the line. Ric Flair walked to the ring to open the show and delivered a passionate speech proclaiming that WCW would never die and challenged Sting for the main event. Sting later accepted and defeated the fourteen-time World Champion Flair in the main event match of the night.
But Sting versus Flair wasn’t the last segment on Nitro’s final show. During the simulcast, Vince McMahon walked to the ring and announced that the official purchase of WCW wasn’t finalized yet. He was going to finalize it at WrestleMania X-Seven when Ted Turner stepped into the WWE and hand delivered the contract. Vince asked what he should do with WCW. Shelve it? Keep it on the air and personally rebuild it into a successful company? Maybe he should just raid the WCW talent pool and bolster his own roster. He polled the audience about whether he should bring in some of WCW’s top stars - Sting, Goldberg, Scott Steiner, Buff Bagwell, Hulk Hogan, and Booker T. Vince then said that as soon as the deal was done, he was going to bury WCW since it was now dead. Suddenly, Vince was interrupted by Shane McMahon who shocked the wrestling world by walking out on Nitro in Panama City Beach, Florida. In his now famous speech, Shane announced that the deal was finalized and that it was his name on the contract, not Vince’s. Shane said he would defeated his father at WrestleMania and teased that WCW would never die.
The very last thing seen on WCW Monday Night Nitro was a commercial for WrestleMania X-Seven, which was six days later. Raw still had another hour left in its show. And after the main event of The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin versus The Undertaker and Kane, the Monday Night War was officially over.
Conclusion
The war was over. While the WWE officials and superstars celebrated their victory, those in WCW feared for their jobs. Vince McMahon, though happy that his competition was out of his hair, would later on admit that he wished he hadn’t driven WCW out of business.
The Monday Night War made wrestling reach new heights in popularity worldwide. The effects of the Monday Night War are still being felt to this day. In 1995, Raw and Nitro were selling out arenas that held 1,000-2,000 people. In 2001, Raw and Nitro were selling 25,00-30,000 tickets per show any sometimes double that for pay-per-views. The willingness to push the envelope changed pro wrestling from being a family show to being at the forefront of pop culture.
It was a great time for everyone involved. Promoters made money than ever before. Wrestlers made money, started gaining health benefits, and reached legendary status in a fraction of the time it took their predecessors. But the real winners, as cliché as it sounds, were the fans. They could watch not one but two wrestling shows that showcased the top names in world. Each show had to put out the best programming they could think of in order to outdo the other. Whether you were a Raw fan or a Nitro fan, there was one thing everyone could agree on.
No era in professional wrestling history compares to the Monday Night War.
As a bonus, here is a link to a bar graph representing how the ratings war went:
Editorial
Whew. Seven parts, eight years, two companies, one war. While I was writing History Of: The Monday Night War, I tried to remain objective. I wanted the events and facts of the war to stand on their own for the readers to judge. I didn’t want my personal thoughts to sway anyone’s opinions about what they were reading. But now that my pet project turned obsession is over, I wanted to spout off my opinions and attempt to answer some questions that fans have been asking since the war ended. It’s nearly impossible for me to put into words what the Monday Night War was like as a fan. I’m going to try my best though. Remember, from here on out, it’s nothing but my opinion.
First off, my take on the War. Since WrestleMania V, I have been a loyal WWE fan. When WCW started taking on WWE head on, I immediately stood behind my beloved Raw. My unwillingness to give Nitro even a curious glance caused me to miss some of the most memorable moments in history. But I didn’t care. If it wasn’t WWE, it sucked. WCW was garbage solely because it wasn’t the WWE. That was pretty asinine of me, right? Made me nothing more than a WWE fan-boy mark, right? It was petty of me to only watch one show and forsake the other, right? Wrong. That was what being a fan during the Monday Night War was all about.
Whether it was Raw or Nitro, fans turned out in droves to see events live. Fans and home would scream at their televisions from 9-11 pm Monday nights. And the best part about it? It was ok. Remember back during the 80s and early 90s when non-wrestling fans would make fun of you just because you were a wrestling fan? Remember when you couldn’t wear a Hulk Rules t-shirt in public because you’d be afraid of ridicule. Well, during the Monday Night War, I had non- and former fans asking me things like “So this Rock guy is pretty cool huh?” or “Hey, where did you get that cool nWo t-shirt?”
I tuned in every Monday night without fail. I started watching pay-per-views live whenever I could instead of waiting for the VHS tapes to come out in stores. I read internet sites just dying to read the words “WCW hires former WWE star” or “Big surprise planned for tonight’s Raw”. Those headlines and spoilers weren’t as frequent as they are today either. A lot of what happened on Monday nights were well kept secrets that the fans had no knowledge of previously.
Another thing that made the Monday Night War so different was that for the first time in history, the business was exposed. Gone were the days of “kayfabe”. Vince McMahon came out during Raw and said that his company wasn’t really wrestling but rather sports entertainment. In truth, wrestling had been sports entertainment since the 1940s, but it was only now that they were admitting it. What really exposed the business was Mick Foley’s autobiography released in November of 1999. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks told his life story about training to be a wrestler, planning finishes to his matches, and exposed the backstage business side of wrestling. WCW played its part too. Wrestlers and officials would often do “shoot” promos on Nitro, talking about backstage politics in front of the live crowds.
Wrestling became more like reality television. Beer trucks, zambonis, cars, and trucks were being driven to the ring. Hardcore wrestling became more prominent thanks the influence of Extreme Championship Wrestling (the smaller third company during this time). Real life issues and relationships were the basis for storylines. But most importantly, unpredictability was the main factor people tuned in. Every show was live by the end of 1998. There were no spoilers on the web, just rumours and speculation. No fan every really knew what was going to happen when they tuned in and that was the number one reason fans like me tuned in.
Answering Quesions
One of the burning questions that has been debated, examined, and argued over since the war ended was “What caused the death of WCW?” There are many theories.
AOL/Time Warner – Eric Bischoff claims that after the merger of Turner and AOL/Time Warner, WCW was being regulated so much that their hands were tied creatively. The board of directors wanted to see scripts for Nitro three months in advance in order to approve storylines and content. Bischoff claims that they wanted to make WCW more family oriented. This would be the kiss of death since Raw was becoming edgier and pushing the envelope. This argument doesn’t hold a lot of water with me because after Bischoff was fired as the head of WCW, Nitro remained an edgier show.
Vince Russo – A lot of storyline ideas and characters that Vince Russo was credited with were considered in very poor taste or just plain unentertaining. The criticisms were often well founded. Russo was behind some of the worst things ever seen in wrestling - David Arquette as WCW Champion, the Viagra on a Pole Match, UFC fighter Tank Abbott managing the wrestling boy band 3 Count, The WCW Reboot, G.I. Bro, and Judy Bagwell as WCW Tag Team Champion (yes, Buff’s mother). Ok so I started going crazy there. I’m sorry. It’s not like the WWE did any better with Meat or Beaver Cleavage.
Creative Control/Politics – While Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart were the only wrestlers to have creative control written into their contracts, many others like Kevin Nash had a large amount of pull as to what happened on Nitro. This was a problem because when five people could change one segment, Nitro would often times not have any detailed plans as to what was going to happen. This led to Nitro looking slapped together and sloppy.
Older Superstars – Many claim that WCW failed because they didn’t create and push new, younger stars. This argument has a level of merit since that’s what the WWE did to become the top company.
So what caused WCW to fold? My belief is somewhat different from the above reasons. Nitro succeeded in the early stages of the War by outdoing Raw. Fans were going through a change; demanding more realistic storylines. WCW figured that out and starting giving the fans what they wanted. Then the WWE started coming back doing what WCW was doing but in their own style. When Raw came back and took over the top spot, they essentially started “out-Nitro-ing” Nitro. Nitro seemed to go into panic mode and tried to constantly adapt to what Raw was doing instead of focusing on making their own show better.
It’s also my belief that once Raw started “getting Attitude”, that Nitro was almost fated to fail. Eric Bischoff, Vince Russo, Bill Busch, and all the others who took the helm of WCW, didn’t have the experience that Vince McMahon and the WWE had. While the heel turn of Hogan and the nWo were huge events for WCW, they seemed not to know how to continue evolving in order to create a “must-see” television product. Wrestlers like Austin, The Rock, Foley, and Triple H were characters that the fans could relate to. Add in the fantastic new style of tag team matches, hardcore matches, and emotional undercard storylines, Raw was just too big of a juggernaut and Nitro couldn’t keep up. Raw had the winning formula and Nitro just didn’t get it.
The other question is fans’ minds these days is “Could there ever be another Monday Night War?” My answer is yes but certain things need to happen.
If another wrestling promotion – be it TNA, ROH, or whatever – is willing to take the WWE head on Monday nights in the same timeslot with a different style of product, then a second Monday Night War could happen. It has to be Monday nights because since 1995, wrestling fans have considered Monday night to be “wrestling night”. TV on Mondays, pay-per-views on Sundays. That’s the standard that the WWE and WCW set years ago and it remains the standard to this day. In order to start another war, a promotion needs to meet that standard and then raise the bar. I hate to say it but it’s just that simple.
I’d love to see it happen again. But right now, I don’t see it happening in the near future.
Regardless of all of that, The Monday Night War between Raw and Nitro remains the “golden era” of the professional wrestling industry. If you haven’t seen any of it, I highly recommend you do what you can to somehow experience it. WWE Classics OnDemand has an ongoing bi-weekly feature showing both shows from the same week. It’s a great way to relive the War. Otherwise, I would suggest searching online in torrent sites or anywhere you can. Believe me, you won’t be disappointed. Also, do yourself a favour and watch the entire episode if possible. Sometimes, the most interesting tidbits of history can be found in what appears to be the least interesting of matches.
For those who watched the Monday Night Wars, I invite you to leave your opinions and favourite memories below in the Facebook comments section especially if you were watching throughout the War. It’s obvious that the Monday Night War will never be forgotten but I think it should only be remembered, but not expected. Rarely, if ever, is something just as great the second time around. The War was revolutionary because it something new and never seen before. To want another War is to invite disappointment due the comparison to the first. The next evolution will happen on its own. The only question . . .
. . . is when.
Thank you for joining me on this project. As always any feedback can be e-mailed to me here or if you’re a member of the Columns Forum, here. Stay tuned for the 19th Teacher’s Lounge after the Royal Rumble and new columns coming soon.
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